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The Seattle World鈥檚 Fair officially began 60 years ago tomorrow, and you can鈥檛 overstate the impact of that long-ago event. The fair 鈥� and all the work it took to pull it off 鈥� transformed the city and the region in positive ways, from the civic can-do spirit it fueled to tackle challenges, to the creation of Seattle Center as home to arts, culture and sports, to putting Seattle on the map as a going concern and a place all about the future.

Aside from all that, the fair also was one heck of a six-month long party 鈥� the 鈥淢ercer Street Carnival鈥� some pundits called 鈥� but carnivals and parties, and transformative civic events need music.

鈥淢eet Me in Seattle鈥� by Joy and The Boys

It was front-page news in November 1961 when 鈥淢eet Me In Seattle鈥� was chosen as the official song of the fair and is probably the best remembered melody. The composer was a 47-year old 鈥渢ool worker鈥� at Boeing named Edward Chambreau. It was recorded by a Seattle lounge act called Joy and the Boys.

鈥淪ee You in Seattle鈥� by The Lancers

鈥淪ee You in Seattle鈥� is probably the second-best known World鈥檚 Fair song, and it鈥檚 also by another lounge act called The Lancers.

Lest our vision of the past be clouded by gauzy sentimentality, Seattle wasn鈥檛 all sweetness and light 60 years ago, and there wasn鈥檛 exactly wholesale buy-in to the notion of these fair songs.

As early as January 1962, in a local column/advertisement that appeared in The Seattle Times and that was sponsored by the Seattle nightclub industry, Paul B. Lowney, opined that “See You in Seattle鈥� by the Lancers and 鈥淢eet Me in Seattle鈥� by Joy and the Boys 鈥渁re catchy and bouncy, but the melodies are too synthetic and lack that certain big hit quality which makes a song 鈥榞reat.鈥�”

“Everything about the Fair should be big league, not simply 鈥榣ocally good,鈥�” he added. “Did big name composers say 鈥榥o鈥� to trying their hand at a World鈥檚 Fair song?鈥�

He then listed a bunch of composers 鈥� including Irving Berlin and Leonard Bernstein 鈥� wondering, 鈥淒id anyone ask them鈥� to compose a song for the fair?

鈥淓veryone Come to the Fair鈥� by Jackie Souders Band, featuring Johnny Weber

We鈥檒l likely never know if Irving Berlin or Leonard Bernstein were asked, but we do know that a local guy called Johnny Weber 鈥� a Seattle physician and serious singer whose real name was Dr. John Wollenweber 鈥� did compose 鈥淓veryone Come to the Fair,鈥� and that he recorded it with Jackie Souders Band (the official marching band of the fair, who are seen in the grand finale of the Elvis Presley movie 鈥淚t Happened at the World鈥檚 Fair鈥�).

鈥淪ummer of 鈥�62鈥� by The Four-Do-Matics

This song is my personal favorite, and might actually qualify as an earworm (decades before that term was invented). The composer is Lou Bianchi, longtime local 鈥� you guessed it 鈥� lounge piano player. Featured on banjo is Ronnie Draper, and vocals are by the Seattle-based giants of the Barbershop quartet world known as the Four-Do-Matics. They were named after an automatic transmission made by the Model-T maker (spelled differently as a play on words 鈥� and because they were a quartet). Three of the four guys also worked at local Ford dealerships around the time the group was getting started.

The Four-Do-Matics were a force in local and national Barbershop singing competitions from the 1950s to the 1970s and they made several recordings of that material that still survive. A reunion of the original members 鈥� Jim Iddings (lead), Clayt Lacey (tenor) Merv Clements (baritone) , and Del Green (bass) 鈥� took place in the 1980s, according to Julie Lombardo, daughter of the late Del Green.

鈥淭he Four-Do-Matics were rock stars in the world of Barbershop in the Pacific Northwest and especially in Seattle,鈥� Lombardo said.

Their World鈥檚 Fair song 鈥� with its musical accompaniment 鈥� is a rarity compared with the rest of their catalog, and something of 鈥渁n outlier,鈥� she described.

鈥淪kidattle to Seattle鈥�

Not much is known about this one, and there may be only one 鈥渄emo鈥� copy of the 78 rpm disc, which is part of the collection of the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) in Seattle. The handwritten label says the song is a 鈥淕ordon Ramsey production.鈥�

鈥淲orld鈥檚 Fair Seattle鈥� by the Jerry Tucker Orchestra, featuring Billy Earle

This song is from a record associated with Elks Club in Seattle and was released around the time they dedicated a new building on Westlake Avenue in Seattle 鈥� which in recent years has been home to China Harbor. Governor Albert Rosellini was pictured with the artists (and the new disc) in a newspaper photo as they prepared to mail a copy of the recording to President Kennedy in early April 1962.

For more World鈥檚 Fair memories, tune in Wednesday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m. to the Seattle Channel (cable 21 in the city) or watch the livestream via MyNorthwest of a special live broadcast from the Space Needle called, 鈥淪pirit of 鈥�62: Celebrating the Seattle World鈥檚 Fair.鈥� The program will be hosted by Feliks Banel, and will feature world鈥檚 fair old-timers and other surprises, including a special song performed by 成人X站鈥檚 Dave Ross and Lisa Brooks.

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News, read more from him鈥�here, and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast聽here. If you have a story idea or a question about Northwest history, please email Feliks鈥�here.